You have a page on Facebook, you even opened up a Twitter and YouTube account and reserved a Blog. What is missing? How about a return on your investment?

There is a direct relationship between how active you are on LinkedIn and how effective your business development will be for your yoga studio. I always say, “Each time you connect to someone on LinkedIn you are giving them the most dynamic business card ever–your living resume!” Think of connecting on LinkedIn, like an assist in yoga class–it is a connection that allows you to open up to your fullest expression!

By connecting on LinkedIn you get an overview of someone’s talents and can see them as a resource. If your heart and mind are open, you will see connections for them and introduce them to people in your network. Each time you create opportunity for one of your yogi connections, you participate in the financial and spiritual growth of our community. When we connect yoga spreads.

Clean up your profile. Make sure it reflects your life and truly is the business card you want to hand out.

Follow my 2 minute drill every day. Make sure you are adding at least one new connection per day. Want more business? Add more connections!

Teach your staff, co-workers and friends how to use LinkedIn effectively. Make the power of large numbers and exponential growth work for you. Every node you turn on in your network ignites your potential.

Identify companies whose employees will benefit from yoga. Connect with the HR person and/or the highest level person you know at the company (yes, on LinkedIn and in person). Create a package that appeals to the company and build a relationship with that company and the employees. Be a resource to them!

Connect to every yoga student and teacher. Ever. If someone comes to your yoga studio, connect to them. This is how we make this huge world of yoga smaller, getting to know each other better and recognize the talents we bring to the studio on and off the mat.

I am setting a goal for you. Grow your presence on LinkedIn intentionally week in and week out. Make sure you have over 500 connections by the end of 2012. Participate in your network and set meetings with your connections (one per week). Mine the gold in your network on LinkedIn and don’t forget to connect to me!

~

Editor: Brianna Bemel

Daily Wake-Up Call Newsletter

Get elephant's Daily Wake Up Call: a gap for inspiration & meaning in the inbox of your mind

About Jamie Ginsberg

Jamie Ginsberg is a yoga teacher and the co-founder of Marin Power Yoga. He is a technology and education evangelist focused on using the social web to increase interaction and engagement. Jamie is a yogi (200 hour teacher training at Cleveland Yoga and Level 1 & Level 2 with Baron Baptiste) and has shot and produced videos and photography for Baron Baptiste, Yoga Journal Conferences and yoga studios across the United States. Jamie’s expertise is a rare blend of creative, business, legal and technology. Jamie has a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the The University of Michigan and a Juris Doctorate from The Cleveland-Marshall School of Law. Link to Jamie here and like him on Facebook.

The problem I have with LinkedIn and Facebook is pretty major…you are only connecting with people that already know about or practice yoga. Yoga Teachers need to be out in the community promoting themselves, other studios and of course Yoga.

Don't get me wrong though. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are great resources but won't bring in new business, won't be pushing the mission of yoga forward – to help heal the world.

I still feel for the most part connecting with shops and businesses in your local area doing deals with these business e.g. a café placing your business card attached to every receipt for every person that sits in, or something like that, would be a fantastic way to promote yourself. The people that need yoga more are not the people searching LinkedIn and Facebook, but are typing into google "yoga teacher in my town". Classified ads in the papers, or even using Craig's List or Gumtree to do free promotion.

But most of all…do not do deals with coupon websites which suck ass and can ruin studios!!

Colin, I agree on the deals, but encourage you to read my previous article on LinkedIn! Your network should be comprised of people you have known from cradle to grave. These people are not all yoga teachers! When you connect to your yoga students or members of your community, you give them the opportunity to like or comment on your LinkedIn Status Update. As it is on Facebook, when you Like or Comment on a LinkedIn Status Update, the post will hit the newsfeed of some portion of your network. This is how we help spread yoga to new people!!! Last but not least, LinkedIn does not become interesting until you have 500 connections – this makes your newsfeed move!!!

Maybe then it's been a while since I used LinkedIn as my experience of it was people self promoting and not out to help one another. I started a LinkedIn account over a year ago now for my website http://iheartmyyogi.com and I went to all the different groups and connected with folks and talked to folks but not 1 person would "pay it forward", they wouldn't say "here this person might help you". I felt all I got was "do you want to see my website" "come to my class, it's only 5,000 miles from your current location as this is a spam email to you".

I might have been doing it wrong, but I felt that everyone I connected to didn't care and only wanted to promote their own products, and not help out their network. And in my person LinkedIn account, I got a lot of spam from employment agencies and took almost 6 months to get rid of one from calling and emailing me! I deleted my personal LinkedIn account as wasn't working for me.

But as I said, it's been a while, there may have been a lot of changes since my own experience. But I do see your point about 500 connections – the tipping point.

I did like your 2minute drill. I think I already employ that (without knowing) on my Facebook and Twitter account and make sure I connect and talk (not promote) to other people. A few of the process I do did come from Ferris' book 4hr working week and they also very similar to the "Go Givers" book and it's sequal "Go Gives Sell More".

I think I will try LinkedIn again soon to see if it is any different, and try out your processes and see if I can get a different result.

Colin, It is definitely an experiment. yes, you will get some Spam and to others you will be some Spam. Vegans be warned! Seriously, the network will return what you put in. It is an amazing research tool and a great way for you to share who you are with the community.